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Improbability Drive
The Improbability Drive (or Drives, as revealed in Madness Aggregation) is a device featured in Madness Combat which bends and breaks the confines of reality, causing all sorts of mayhem and confusion. It is a reference to the Infinite Improbability Drive used in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but unlike its counterpart the device is not a form of propulsion. Featured in Madness Avenger, Antipathy, Consternation, and Inundation, the Drive has been one of the key elements to the Madness plot, its numerous effects carrying over from episode to episode. The Sheriff's Improbability Drive The Sheriff's Improbability Drive is a simple device in appearance, but complex and dangerous in function. First appearing in Madness Combat 3: Avenger and later in Madness Combat 6: Antipathy, the Drive appears as a single gray terminal with a screen and a red button labeled "Improbability Drive". It was later commandeered by Tricky the Clown, who used the Drive to achieve a state of near omnipotence. In Madness Combat 9: Aggregation, it is revealed that this Improbability Drive is the "secondary" Drive. The destruction of the primary Drive causes normality to be restored, although the secondary Drive is still operational. The Auditor's Improbability Drive The Auditor's Improbability Drive is more complicated, and arguably more powerful, than the Sheriff's Drive. It appears in Madness Combat 7: Consternation and Madness Combat 8: Inundation as a small terminal consisting almost entirely of a screen, along with a small grey box labeled "Improbability Management" and laptop computer attached to it. In contrast to the Sheriff's Drive, which affected all of reality indiscriminately, specific commands can be imputed into the Auditor's Drive via the laptop, such as "infecting" specific people. This Drive was destroyed in Madness Combat 8: Inundation, causing the state of improbability over reality which lasted since Madness Avenger to be dispelled and normality to be restored. In Madness Combat 9: Aggregation, it is revealed that this Improbability Drive is the "primary" Drive, while the Sheriff's Drive is the secondary Drive. Portable Improbability Drive The Portable Improbability Drive is a small device capable of projecting the effects of improbability onto a single individual. Tricky uses it to transform into a large, flaming monster in Madness Combat 7: Consternation, where the device is housed in his "brain cavity". After Hank damages the Drive with a shotgun, Tricky places the Drive in the care of two A.T.P Agents, who try to repair it. This has the side effect of reducing the Drive's effects, namely reducing the size of Tricky's monster form back down to that of a normal human. The Drive is destroyed by Jesus Christ. The Drive makes cameo appearances in Madness Inundation and Madness Aggregation. Appearances Madness Avenger The Drive first appeared in Madness Avenger, roughly half way through the animation. At the time, the Sheriff was watching Hank through a security camera. Becoming concerned after watching his foe slaughter the room's occupants, the sheriff pressed the button which activated the Drive for the first time. Apparently this was in the hopes that the distorted world would eventually kill off Hank, but this would not be so. Madness Antipathy The Drive appeared a second time in Madness Antipathy. Apparently moved to the same building used for A.A.H.W training, the Drive was probably Hank's target for the episode. When he finally reached the control panel, he found that the button was taped down by Tricky, indicating that he wanted to turn it off while Tricky thought otherwise; the Drive is the source of his power. Before he could deactivate it, Hank was thrown away by a train which literally came out of nowhere and ran right through where he was standing. Madness Consternation The Improbability Drive made a third appearance in Madness Consternation, this time as a smaller "Portable Improbability Drive" found inside Tricky's head. The drive was damaged when Hank shot Tricky in the face, sending shotgun pellets through it. At the end, a few guards were seen attempting to fix it, but were killed as Jesus shot and destroyed it. Madness Inundation In Madness Inundation, the drive is seen to currently be controlled by the Auditor. It has formed from a basic control panel button into a full program, as seen on a computer screen in front of the auditor. The program takes on an almost DOS appearance, and appears to be much more malleable, able to perform specific commands by typing in code. It is used to "infect" Jesus (with what is never stated; it may even be something unique to the Drive), which makes him randomly vomit large amounts of blood - too much for a normal human to survive. Madness Aggregation In Madness Aggregation, the portable drive Tricky used is briefly seen destroyed, and Deimos has a handheld monitor of all the drives, and it says that the primary and portable ones are destroyed, but a third, secret one(probably the Sheriff's drive) is still active. The Drive's effects The Improbability Drive has done plenty of damage to the fabric of reality in the world of Madness Combat, some things less evident than others. However, these effects are continually growing in number as the series expands. The Sun One of the most profound effects it has had is in essentially "turning off the sun". In Madness Avenger, just after the Drive's activation, the sun grew a body and attempted to kill Hank. It was unsuccessful, however, and was beaten senseless by the warning sign. However, when the sun died, the light shining in the background quickly dimmed to black, delving the world in darkness. This darkness has been present in the proceeding episodes. On a side note, a red light resembling a sun began to show on the dark horizon in Madness Depredation, and in Madness Antipathy this glow had illuminated the horizon completely. In Madness Consternation the red light illuminates the whole sky. Whether or not this is an effect of the Drive is still unknown. Tricky The second most extreme effect the Drive has made is that it seemingly "super-powered" Tricky, making him an extremely deadly, and insane, opponent. Tricky appeared (for the second time) in Madness Avenger after the Drive had been activated. Shortly afterward, he was killed by Hank when he rammed the warning sign through his chest and impaled him to a giant marshmallow which had fallen from the sky. Tricky was then seen to have been zombified, but according to Krinkels this did not come from Jesus, the character usually associated with zombification. Tricky did not appear to be any different from a normal zombie afterward (although it is entirely possible that he retained his intelligence) and was killed once again. The effects began to show two episodes later in Madness Depredation in which Tricky became "enpowered" by the Drive. Shortly after he was killed once again, the text "REALITY COMPROMISED. THE CLOWN HAS BEEN ENGAGED!" appeared and Tricky began to shake violently. He began to show incredible strength and agility, as noted by his swift retribution against both Hank and Jesus. In Madness Antipathy, Tricky also summoned a train and a building from the sky, both filled with 1337 Crew agents intent only on stopping Hank. Tricky also showed immortality in that, no matter how much damage he received, he never died. Hank managed to kill him at the end of Madness Depredation by removing the top half of his head during which he didn't only get his brains removed but also lost an immense around of blood, but his seemingly lifeless body sprung back up almost instantly and slaughtered Hank. At the end of Madness Antipathy he was shot over 15 times and thrown off of a cliff, but the Drive determined that his death was "invalid" and it proceeded to bestow upon him the Portable Improbability Drive, which brought him back to life as giant flaming beast that could only be harmed by damaging the Portable Improbability Drive itself. Minor effects The Drive has caused many minor, but humorous, things to happen, some of which have no relevance to anything at all. The marshmallow and other diversions The giant marshmallow seen in Marsh-Mellow-Madness was seen falling from the sky in Avenger after the Drive had been activated. It crushed several people when it hit the ground and was the surface on which Tricky was impaled on. In this same period it was 'raining' sperm whales in the background. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy references The Flying Party as it is seen in Madness Depredation There were several further references to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy besides for the Drive itself. In Madness Avenger it caused sperm whales to fall from the sky along with the giant marshmallow; their silhouettes could be seen in the background. These whales came from an incident in the book in which the Drive changed two approaching cruise missiles into a a sperm whale and a bowl of petunias which fell several thousand feet to the ground below. Another reference is in the form of a building which fell from the sky and crushed two people in a car in Madness Depredation. This was a reference to the "Flying Party" in the book series, as evident by the lights and dancing seen through the structure's windows. The Flying Party will re-appear in Madness Combat 9, as well as the two people in the jeep which it crushed. Other occurrences There were several other oddities in Madness such as walls that came out of nowhere and incidents in which the laws of physics were broken. In Madness Avenger, immediately after the Drive's activation, the room in which Hank was became cut in two when a welding spot appeared on the wall and sliced off the left half, causing it to plummet into an abyss. In the same room, people coming out of the door to the right were flying in all directions out of the opening, one ricocheting off of Hank's weapon and slamming into the ceiling head first. Later on in the animation, walls suddenly appeared out of nowhere at one point and closed Hank off in a box. In Madness Depredation, just prior to the appearance of Tricky, the warning sign came out of the ground and shot off to the side, tearing a rift through the ground as it went. Tricky and two 1337 agents actually came out of this chasm before reality was "compromised". In Madness Antipathy, when Hank was attempting to turn the Drive off, the building housing the panel simply disappeared and a line of railroad tracks took its place. Not soon afterwards a train carrying 1337 agents with Tricky as the engineer screamed down the rails, throwing Hank off to the side. In Madness Consternation, after Hank had been revived by Tricky, several building fell from the sky which were filled with 1337 agents